Please help. Mic, speakers and headphones!

[ima18h]

Hello guys.
Currently im using Audient id4 with Sennheiser HD 600 headphones and a shure sm7b microphone. I added a dynamite to the microphone, but it is still underpowered.

I'm looking to add speakers, maybe like the KEF Q150, and was wondering how to have all these 3 things working well, without spending too much. I'm from scandinavia and can order stuff from china, aliexpress, europe, scandinavia and any place not too far.

Is there a device that can do everything in 1, or do i have to get at least 2 devices?

Also, recommend me some speakers around 200-500$.
Thanks

 

[DVDdoug]

I added a dynamite to the microphone, but it is still underpowered.

What are you recording? ...Birds in the trees will give you a very-weak signal. The mic in front of a guitar amp or drum will give you a very-strong signal.

If it's your voice are you speaking/singing with a "strong confident voice", fairly close to the microphone?

What are you seeing on the Audient LED meters?

Is the mic booster doing anything? Is there a difference with/without it? It should be giving you 28dB of boost, and that's a lot!

I assume you are recording? Digital recording levels are not that critical, especially at 24-bits, as long as you're not "trying" to go over 0dB and clipping. i.e. Turning down the recording level knob doesn't hurt the sound quality but weak acoustic or analog levels can be a problem or an indication of a problem.

You can amplify digitally after recording.

Pros often record around -12-18dB, but in most cases there's no need for that much headroom. Nothing bad happens when you get close to 0dB.

Usually the biggest limitation with home recording is acoustic noise... Most of us don't have a soundproof studio... Electrical preamp noise can sometimes also be an issue, especially with a low-output dynamic mic (but the mic booster should be low-noise and it should help).

 

[ima18h]

What are you recording? ...Birds in the trees will give you a very-weak signal. The mic in front of a guitar amp or drum will give you a very-strong signal.

If it's your voice are you speaking/singing with a "strong confident voice", fairly close to the microphone?

What are you seeing on the Audient LED meters?

Is the mic booster doing anything? Is there a difference with/without it? It should be giving you 28dB of boost, and that's a lot!

I assume you are recording? Digital recording levels are not that critical, especially at 24-bits, as long as you're not "trying" to go over 0dB and clipping. i.e. Turning down the recording level knob doesn't hurt the sound quality but weak acoustic or analog levels can be a problem or an indication of a problem.

You can amplify digitally after recording.

Pros often record around -12-18dB, but in most cases there's no need for that much headroom. Nothing bad happens when you get close to 0dB.

Usually the biggest limitation with home recording is acoustic noise... Most of us don't have a soundproof studio... Electrical preamp noise can sometimes also be an issue, especially with a low-output dynamic mic (but the mic booster should be low-noise and it should help).

Currently, i'm using the mic for discord, haha. Because i can't be bothered to go close to the mic, it becomes a little low in volume while the audient id4 mic amp is almost maxed out. I guess when i think about it, it's fine. But at high mic amplification from the audient id4, you get noise.

Do you have any advice on how i should add the speakers? Should i just keep the audient id4?

 

[DVDdoug]

I can't recommend speakers, and there is usually a lot of personal preference involved. If you get active monitors you can plug them into your interface (without an amplifier).

But at high mic amplification from the audient id4, you get noise.

Because i can't be bothered to go close to the mic, it becomes a little low in

A weaker signal means a worse signal-to-noise ratio. You amplify the signal, the noise also gets amplified and the noise is more noticeable.

A condenser mic MIGHT help IF the noise is coming from the dynamite booster, but it's supposed to be low noise. A condenser will give you a signal in the same ballpark as the SM7B with the dynamite, so if the noise is coming from the Audient's preamp it won't help.

I THINK the Audient has a good reputation but ALL preamps have SOME noise. Hiss usually comes from the preamp itself. Hum or whine usually comes from the power supply. If the noise is a high-pitch whine, it getting into the analog electronics through the USB power, which is notoriously noisy. A powered USB hub may help, or a different interface may be more immune to the noise. (Or an interface with its own separate power supply.) Or a different computer may have less noisy power.

 

[goat76]

Dynamic microphones like the Shure SM7B usually have a very low sensitivity, so maybe you should use a condenser microphone instead which may be a better choice.

The dynamic microphone I have, an EV RE20 also has a very low sensitivity and I think it works best for close micing. I can recommend a Warm Audio WA-47jr, it has a way higher sensitivity, sounds great, and is not too expensive. I think it will likely work better for the thing you want to use it for.

 

[staticV3]

@ima18h
You can run all three off a single interface:

Mic->Mic in
Headphone out->Headphones
Line out->Active monitors, or Line out->Amp->Passive speakers

Check out Julian Krause on YouTube for tons of objective data on audio interfaces.

Here's his graph showing the maximum gain of each interface:

 

[staticV3]

Also, recommend me some speakers around 200-500$.

$200-500 per pair?
What's your listening distance?
Will you use a subwoofer?

 

[ima18h]

$200-500 per pair?
What's your listening distance?
Will you use a subwoofer?

Yeah, i already have a basic sub, actually. the Dynavoice Magic Sub 8.
And i want passive speakers, because i want to be able to use them in my home theater too, if possible. i use Yamaha RX-V673.
But also for listening to music.
max 500 for the pair, hopefully a bit less though.

 

[stoo23]

Is it actually a REAL Shure SM7 ??
The design of the SM7 allows you to get Very close, Without causing any undue 'proximity' effect or being a problem for the mic, (like the aforementioned EV RE-20, it can handle decent levels).

I am seriously surprised you are having level 'issues', Especially with the added 'Dynamite' plugged in, +28 is a LOT,.. and this is simply for Speech ?? on Discord ??
Something sounds very wrong to me.

 

[ima18h]

Is it actually a REAL Shure SM7 ??
The design of the SM7 allows you to get Very close, Without causing any undue 'proximity' effect or being a problem for the mic, (like the aforementioned EV RE-20, it can handle decent levels).

I am seriously surprised you are having level 'issues', Especially with the added 'Dynamite' plugged in, +28 is a LOT,.. and this is simply for Speech ?? on Discord ??
Something sounds very wrong to me.

thats the problem, i dont get very close to the mic, because its less comfortable right now. so it was probably just me using it wrong.
i feel like everyone focused on the wrong issue, when i need help choosing a solution to add speakers, haha

 

[staticV3]

Yeah, i already have a basic sub, actually. the Dynavoice Magic Sub 8.
And i want passive speakers, because i want to be able to use them in my home theater too, if possible. i use Yamaha RX-V673.
But also for listening to music.
max 500 for the pair, hopefully a bit less though.

So is your home theater and Discord setup the same thing? Or two separate setups?

If so, do you want to move the speakers around between each setup, or how is that gonna work?

 

[ima18h]

So is your home theater and Discord setup the same thing? Or two separate setups?

If so, do you want to move the speakers around between each setup, or how is that gonna work?

Ill move them around, but they will mainly be in the home theater/music playing. because i have some cheaper ones i intend to use on the desktop computer. i could also consider only using them on the home theater and only use the old ones with the pc. but the old ones still need an interface or something with usb to connect?

 

[staticV3]

but the old ones still need an interface or something with usb to connect?

You already have an interface with USB and Line out.
All that's required to connect the old speakers is an Amp.

Take a look at Fosi or Aiyima for some good budget Amps.

 

[ima18h]

You already have an interface with USB and Line out.
All that's required to connect the old speakers is an Amp.

Take a look at Fosi or Aiyima for some good budget Amps.

Ahh, ok. i understand now.
But the audient id4 is annoying, it resets the volume after restarting the pc... is it normal behaviour?
what interface would you recommend that does not have that issue?

 

[kemmler3D]

Ahh, ok. i understand now.
But the audient id4 is annoying, it resets the volume after restarting the pc... is it normal behaviour?
what interface would you recommend that does not have that issue?

If you are keen to replace your interface... I've been happy with the MOTU M2. I got one secondhand for less than $200. Good gain, fairly low noise, decent headphone amp, works pretty happily with Mac and PC, doesn't reset the volume when the computer restarts.

 

[ima18h]

If you are keen to replace your interface... I've been happy with the MOTU M2. I got one secondhand for less than $200. Good gain, fairly low noise, decent headphone amp, works pretty happily with Mac and PC, doesn't reset the volume when the computer restarts.

nice, thanks. i'll look into that one!

 

[ima18h]

Thanks guys, consider me helped. i need to understand a bit more basics of how all these things work too.

Take care everyone!

 

[kemmler3D]

Thanks guys, consider me helped. i need to understand a bit more basics of how all these things work too.

Take care everyone!

Cool! Best of luck. Just keep in mind that being far from the mic is not something an interface can fully help with. Consider just getting a desk-mount mic boom to get the mic closer to your face. There is no substitute for proper distance. One more basic thing that's important here: inverse square law.